The Cherokee Nation Has Returned (Travel)

Walking the streets of Tahlequah, I was intrigued by the many business and traffic signs that were written in what appeared to be a combination of the English and Greek alphabet.  The language being spoken was a tongue I had never heard.  Even when ordering lunch at a local café, I couldn’t identify a number of items on the menu.

By all outward appearances, it would seem that I was in a far and distant land, but in reality I was simply in Oklahoma.  More specifically, I was in northeast Oklahoma in the 14 counties the U.S. Government has designated as the Cherokee Nation.

Yes, there are real Cherokee Indians alive and well today. Not a figment of Hollywood stereotypes, not a tacky tourist trap on Route 66, not a footnote in U.S. history.

Today the Cherokee are recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States and have dual citizenship.  Slowly, quietly, the pride has returned to the people whose identity and dignity was stripped from them in one of the most hateful acts inflicted on one race by another.

Uprooted from their homelands in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in the 1830s and force-marched to Oklahoma on that brutal journey that has become known as the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee culture almost disappeared as the survivors attempted assimilate to the white man’s way.

And even though it has been 170 years, the ancestors of those who traveled the Trail of Tears are just now beginning to openly celebrate the richness and uniqueness of their culture, and invite others to join in the celebration.

Tahlequah is the capitol of the Cherokee Nation and home to the Cherokee Heritage Center. Here, visitors may explore what life was like for the Cherokee prior to contact with Europeans in a multi-acre village where women demonstrate ancient basket weaving skills, men carve arrowheads and teams compete in a tribal game called Fish Pole.

Another outdoor village shows life for the Cherokee after they settled in Oklahoma.  Inside, visitors begin to feel just a fraction of the pain and injustice inflicted on the Cherokee people along the Trail of Tears. Other exhibits emphasize the advanced society of the Cherokee, explaining their 86-character alphabet, their seven surviving clans and a government that operates today with efficiency and authority.

Other sites in the Cherokee nation include Fort Gibson, built to keep white people out of Indian Territory, Northeast State University that first served as a college for Cherokee women, and the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore. There are a number of cemeteries, schools, parks and historic buildings throughout the region that may be visited independently or as a part of a guided tour by members of the Cherokee Nation.

–Text and photo by Diana Lambdin Meyer, Red Editorial Staff